Measuring Colorado’s mountains one hike at a time

By: Eric Gilbertson, Seattle University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: December 4, 2025

Words: 1,769

Last Updated: 1 month, 1 week ago

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By Eric Gilbertson, Seattle University

In the middle of a chilly October night in 2025, my two friends and I suited up at the Cottonwood Creek trailhead and started a trek into the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Colorado. It was a little below freezing as we got moving at 1:30 a.m., and the Moon illuminated the snowy mountaintops above us.

Our packs were a bit heavier than normal because we were hauling highly accurate …

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